WTO major members aim to end Doha Round this year
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Trade ministers representing major members of the World Trade Organization agreed Saturday to finish the long-stalled Doha Round of global trade talks this year.
"There was a sense that we are in the end game and that if Doha is done, it needs to be done this year," Swiss Economy Minister Johann N. Schneider-Ammann said after hosting a meeting with his counterparts from 23 major WTO members as well as WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.
The informal meeting, held on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, was intended to intensify work on the Doha Round, which started in 2001 and repeatedly missed the deadlines previously set.
"The exchanges between ministers showed their willingness to work toward a comprehensive and balanced conclusion of the Doha Round," the participants said in a statement.
According to a road map agreed by the ministers, negotiating texts in all areas of the Doha negotiations would be ready by April, and overall agreement on the package by July in order for conclusion of the Doha Round in 2011.
